Table 1.
Demographics and sample characteristics by patient and pepsin A status (≥6.25 ng/mL).
| Variable | Levels | Any positive tracheal pepsin A | No tracheal pepsin A | Total | Chi-squared test statistics | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | N (%) | 111 (39 %) | 172 (61 %) | 283 (100 %) | ||
| Age | <50 years | 34 (40 %) | 52 (60 %) | 86 (30 %) | <0.001 | >0.999 |
| ≥50 years | 77 (39 %) | 120 (61 %) | 197 (70 %) | |||
| Sex | Female | 43 (36 %) | 76 (64 %) | 119 (42 %) | 0.61 | 0.434 |
| Male | 68 (41 %) | 96 (59 %) | 164 (58 %) | |||
| Enteral feeding | Any enteral feeding | 96 (43 %) | 126 (57 %) | 222 (78 %) | 6.22 | 0.013 |
| No enteral feeding at any time point | 15 (25 %) | 46 (75 %) | 61 (22 %) | |||
| Gastric residual volume | <250 mL | 79 (43 %) | 103 (57 %) | 182 (64 %) | 0.79 | 0.375 |
| ≥250 mL | 2 (100 %) | 0 (0 %) | 2 (0.7 %) | |||
| Unknown | 30 | 69 | 99 | |||
| RASS | Deep sedation −3, −4, −5 |
55 (47 %) | 62 (53 %) | 117 (41 %) | 5.28 | 0.071 |
| Light sedation +1, 0, −1, −2 |
53 (34 %) | 102 (66 %) | 155 (55 %) | |||
| Anxious/restless/combative +4, +3, +2 |
3 (27 %) | 8 (73 %) | 11 (4 %) | |||
| Opioids | Yes | 92 (43 %) | 123 (57 %) | 215 (76 %) | 4.18 | 0.041 |
| No | 19 (28 %) | 49 (23 %) | 68 (24 %) | |||
| Sedatives | Yes | 50 (44 %) | 63 (56 %) | 113 (40 %) | 1.66 | 0.198 |
| No | 61 (36 %) | 109 (39 %) | 170 (60 %) | |||
| Paralytics | Yes | 4 (4 %) | 6 (6 %) | 10 (4 %) | <0.001 | >0.999 |
| No | 107 (39 %) | 166 (61 %) | 273 (96 %) |
Variables were assigned based on data occurring during the majority of time points unless specified otherwise. Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS).